Some example embodiments relate to a semiconductor memory device, and in particular, to a volatile memory device and an electronic device including a refresh information generator, an information providing method thereof, and/or a refresh control method thereof.
A semiconductor memory device refers to a device that stores data under control of a host device, such as a computer, a smartphone, a smart pad, etc. The semiconductor memory device includes a volatile memory device such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a static RAM (SRAM). As an example of the volatile memory device, a DRAM device performs a refresh operation periodically such that data stored therein is not lost. In general, to limit and/or prevent collision of data in the refresh operation, a memory device does not receive a write or read command.
To provide a high-capacity memory to a host, in general, the volatile memory device may be implemented in the form of a memory module. The refresh operation that is performed on a plurality of volatile memory devices included in the memory module is managed by the host and a memory controller.
However, according to a tendency for the high capacity and high integration of the memory module and the memory device, it becomes complicated for the host (and/or memory controller) to control the refresh operation for each memory device. Also, if the number of refresh commands increases, as described above, the efficiency in which data is processed may decrease because the memory device does not receive a write or read command.